Deep Plane Facelift
October 17, 2025 No Comments
Dr. Sanan is an expert in the extended deep plane facelift and neck lift technique, which leads to the most natural-looking, long-lasting results.
To achieve the most natural-looking, timeless results from facelift surgery, patients need to seek out highly qualified, experienced facial surgeons who combine their extensive knowledge with advanced surgical techniques to produce bespoke results. Dr. Sanan is a double-board-certified facial plastic surgeon who is renowned as one of the top facial plastic surgeons in the region. With an exclusive focus on surgical treatments of the face and neck, Dr. Sanan and his team are able to create customized treatment plans for full facial rejuvenation.
The top medical providers in the country are the ones who not only attended prestigious universities and completed challenging programs to achieve their board certifications, but are also the ones who continue to be engaged in their field. The best surgeons are highly rated by their patients, educate the next generation of surgeons, and consistently lend their expertise to new research and publications in their fields.
Dr. Akshay Sanan is renowned within his field. After being selected as the sole Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellow at Stanford University, he was appointed as a clinical instructor, became double-board certified, and worked in Beverly Hills alongside the top plastic surgeons. Since opening his practice in Boston, he has maintained an average online review score of 5 stars across both RealSelf and Google. He helps guide and mentor the next generation of plastic surgeons at Harvard Medical School, and continues to lend his expertise to publications within the face/neck surgery field.
Above all, he helps his patients understand which treatments are aligned with their goals, and steers them away from misinformation and ineffective treatments and techniques that are popularized by social media. He provides his patients with bespoke, timeless results by utilizing the best surgical technology and techniques.
An extended deep plane facelift tightens loose skin, removes excess fat, and repositions tissue along the vertical vector. Dr. Sanan specializes in the Deep Plane technique, which provides significant benefits over traditional SMAS facelifts. SMAS (Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System) facelifts do not target the ligaments beneath the muscle layer. This results in a less natural look, where the skin looks “stretched” or “pulled back”.
The vast majority of plastic surgeons utilize the SMAS technique because it requires less expertise and precision. Because deep plane facelifts and neck lifts consistently provide better results, and there is a lack of regulation about this terminology, many plastic surgeons use terms like “deep plane” or “vertical facelift” while still relying on the SMAS technique. This has led to surgeons who actually perform deep plane surgeries creating new terms like “extended deep plane”. These subtle differences in terminology frequently lead to patient confusion, which is why Dr. Sanan provides educational videos and articles that break down the actual differences between these techniques, so patients are not misled.
Dr. Sanan customizes every treatment plan to the exact needs of his patients. Facelift procedures are done at our Quad A-certified private surgery center, where a board-certified anesthesia provider is with the patient throughout the treatment to administer anesthesia via IV. He meticulously designs incisions to hide them. Incisions are made in front of and behind a patient’s ears as well as underneath their chin. As one of the few surgeons in the Northeast who truly provides extended deep plane facelifts and neck lifts, Dr. Sanan sees patients from all over the country. For out-of-state patients, our dedicated team helps them with their travel/lodging plans.
Facelifts are recommended to patients with good physical health and clear signs of aging. They are ideal for people looking to target both their mid and lower face. During a consultation with Dr. Sanan, he will provide a full facial analysis. The goal of the analysis is to create a customized treatment plan based on your goals. For example, he may recommend full facial rejuvenation surgery, which combines a deep plane facelift with other treatments including deep plane neck lift, lip lift, fat grafting, and laser skin resurfacing. You can learn more about these individual procedures on our procedure pricing page.
Surgeons use different techniques to perform a facelift, which lead to significantly different results. Likewise, communication regarding facelift surgery is not consistent from practice to practice. There are many cases where surgeons use different terms to describe the same procedure. For example, vertical facelift and deep plane facelift are both used to describe the deep plane technique. It is valuable for patients to understand the differences in terms and techniques. Dr. Sanan’s preferred surgical technique is to perform an extended deep plane facelift because it provides the best results for his patients. Below is a quick comparison between the terms you will find online or on social media about facelift surgeries.
| Procedure | Treatment Area | Best For | Downtime & Reovery | Key Differences in Techniques |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Plane Facelift or "Extended" Deep Plane Facelift | Mid-face, cheeks, jawline, and neck | Addressing deeper tissues, significant loss of volume in the cheeks, heavy jowls, or deeper folds. | Initial recovery is 2-4 weeks like traditional facelifts | The deep plane facelift technique is a highly specialized technique that is not practiced by most plastic surgeons due to the extensive training and expertise needed. This treatment is preferred by the top facial plastic surgeons across the country. |
| Vertical Facelift | Mid-face, lower face, cheeks, and jawline | Lifting tissues upward and addressing facial sagging with an emphasis on the cheeks, and mid-face | Typical recovery time begins with a 2-4 week period | "Vertical" facelifts are a commonly used marketing term for Deep Plane facelifts. They get their name from the fact that the deep plane technique repositions tissue along the vertical vector. |
| Traditional (SMAS) Facelift | Mid-face, lower face, jawline, and neck | Anti-aging and addressing sagging around the neck, jowls, or loose skin. | Initial recovery lasts about 2-4 weeks, while full recovery takes a few months | SMAS facelifts are the most common method/technique used by plastic surgeons. They can produce less natural-looking results with a "stretched" appearance which is why Dr. Sanan does not prefer this technique and recommends deep plane facelifts. |
| Mini Facelift | Lower face, jawline | Primarily for moderate sagging around the jawline | Initial recovery takes 1-2 weeks, although swelling can persist | Mini facelifts only target the lower section of the face and inherently provide less dramatic results. While the idea of getting a "mini" facelift might sound appealing, Dr. Sanan frequently cautions patients against it, since other surgical techniques lead to vastly superior results that are much more long-lasting. |
Your recovery process begins as soon as the surgery is completed. In your recovery room, you will have a light wrap around your head that helps keep light pressure around the face and neck. Additionally, there will be small drain tubes to get rid of any excess fluid. A dedicated after care nurse will transport you from the surgery center to our home/hotel.
You will see us in the office the day after your surgery, so we can remove the head wrap, clean your incisions, and remove one of your drain tubes. Your head is then wrapped back up, and you are sent home, or to a nearby hotel.
On the second day after your surgery, you will return for a follow-up appointment where we can remove another drain tube and clean your incisions. You will then have a subsequent follow up 1 week after your surgery.
The majority of your sutures are removed 1 week after surgery. Any remaining sutures are removed 2 weeks after surgery. By the end of two weeks post-operative, patients tend to feel more comfortable and can start potentially going out to dinner, wearing makeup, and wearing their hair down. Two weeks after surgery, you will see Dr. Sanan again, who will check on your incisions and wound healing. While patients will feel confident to go out socially two weeks after surgery, the overall recovery usually takes up to two months. We recommend that patients have their facelift and neck lift at least 2 months prior to any major personal or work events. For out-of-state patients, you will be cleared to fly home 8 days after your surgery.
You will see Dr. Sanan 6 months and 1 year post-operatively. He will recommend you start doing adjunctive treatments like microneedling, lasers, neuromodulators, and skincare to maintain your results. Throughout the year of healing, you will notice improved cheek, jawline, and neck line contour.
Dr. Sanan frequently treats patients from New York, Florida, Maine, and other areas that are not within driving distance of Boston. For out-of-state patients, our team helps with recommendations for hotels and ensures you have the post-care team to help with initial recovery. Here is what the typical facelift timeline looks like for someone coming to our Boston office from out-of-state.
Dr. Sanan specializes in the deep plane facelift and neck lift with a vertical vector technique. On average, pricing for these specialized facelift surgeries begin around $58,000. For more information on different procedures and pricing, we recommend viewing our pricing resource page. It is also common for patients to combine multiple procedures together aspart of a full facial rejuvenation treatment plan.
When considering treatments like a Facelift, there are a handful of surgeons that offer this treatment, including facial plastic surgeons, general plastic surgeons, and cosmetic surgeons. Across all three disciplines, the key differentiator is training, specialization and expertise.
Most facial plastic surgeons would recommend a deep plane facelift to patients who are aiming to achieve naturally-looking results. While a SMAS traditional facelift focuses on moving the skin, a deep plane facelift focuses on repositioning the underlying muscles and connective tissues. Some patients feel that the traditional facelift creates a stretched or pulled look that is more noticeable. Because deep plane facelifts involve moving deeper tissue, it avoids that stretched/pulled look. Dr. Sanan goes into greater detail about these differences in this video.
A mini facelift and a full facelift both aim to address signs of aging around the face. However, a mini facelift uses shorter incisions and primarily targets the lower face and jawline area, instead of the mid-face and lower face and neck. Mini facelifts are usually skin only facelifts, which lead to less natural results and shorter lasting results. Full facelifts address more comprehensive areas of aging including droopy cheeks, jowls, and neck skin and muscle laxity. Mini facelifts tend to have shorter downtimes/recovery time, but have less pronounced results. During a consultation with Dr. Sanan he will consider your age, goals, and other key factors to determine the best treatment protocol for you.